One last heart
by grapenut01
Summary: Regina has had more downs than ups in her life and losing Henry was the last straw, she couldn't take anymore. She was going to take one final heart and give the towns people what they wanted.


Henry had been all she had left. Her last hope, the life raft she clung to. But the moment that woman gave him that book… her raft was popped and the waves came crashing down on her as her son read about the dark past she had, the lives she'd ruined and the curse she'd set on the town.

She'd seen the way he began to look at her now, she was the bad guy to him now too. She'd tried to keep hold of him but that only wound up pushing him away faster, running into the arms of the woman who had given birth to him. It was like a dagger into her heart, he'd prefer the woman that had given him up over her, the one that had been there since she gained custody of him.

Having Emma come to town only made things worse, the blonde was insufferable but she couldn't help but to be drawn to the younger woman. She challenged her in a way she'd long since forgotten. She hated her for everything she stood for, the good, her fall, a painful reminder of what she had, her past and yet, she was drawn to her all the same.

This woman would be her downfall so she fought against her, tooth and nail for her son. In the end it all seemed like a waste. She had her curse broken, and when she regained her magic the woman had saved her life. Using magic was like breathing to her and it wasn't long before the addictive power took her into it's grasp and she found herself turning into her mother yet again. She let go of Henry when she realized what she was doing. She let him go with his grandfather and locked herself away in her home.

She stopped using magic for Henry but it was using magic to save his mother and grandmother that began to bring them closer. She'd tried to protect him again but it blew up in her face. She'd taken the curse in that she'd helped Gold cast and fell back, tears springing to her eyes as her son thought he'd lost the mother he just found, at the thought she'd never see the beautiful blonde again.

Seeing the woman brought both a sense of relief and dread. Her son had ran to the blonde and clung to her, and then they all went back so the family could be properly united. She watched her son leave with his family and heard Gold's cold remark but it didn't anger her like it once would have, it only fueled her despair.

She'd never deserved to have her son, she was the Evil Queen. Everything that her mother and Gold had desired her to be, everything she'd never wanted for herself. She was worthless as a daughter, as a wife, even as a mother she couldn't do anything right. Her heart had been shattered and she had no idea how to love after that and her poor attempts just landed her flat on her face.

It was with trepidation that she began to see the blonde and her son, when she was allowed of course. She felt as if it was a punishment, but she would endure it for her son. She slowly began to let the younger woman into her life. She wouldn't quite call them friends but she got invited to the celebration dinner at Granny's. She spent the night sitting alone in the corner, watching everyone else talk to one another.

She'd felt her hope shatter as Emma admitted she'd only invited her for Henry, and at 's suggestion. The cricket had told her about their sessions, of course it was only fitting that the few people she ever let into her life were the ones to betray her trust. She'd confronted him about it but wound up simply going back to an empty home and drinking three bottles of her cider. She knew she couldn't use the alcohol as a crutch but it was better than using her magic again.

Her hangover didn't help her the next day as she found out that not only was murdered but she was being accused of committing the crime herself. They'd come to confront her after speaking with Gold and she'd used magic. They'd done nothing but attack her and she lashed out. She couldn't help herself but to finally lash out and now, now she would lose her son. She watched as Emma told Henry and he just held onto the blonde, very upset.

She had nothing now. She was alone, Henry wouldn't want to ever see her again, he barely gave her a second thought as it was and Emma… the woman had never cared for her as she'd thought she might. She'd been through nothing but hell in her life and she could take no more. She'd suffered her mother's abuse, lost the man she loved, lost her hope, was betrayed by the young girl she'd saved, lived through an abusive marriage, lost her son and the last shred of hope she'd been given again. She was done.

It had been easy in the end, she'd taken hundreds of hearts, what was one more? She'd reached into her chest, gasping softly as she pulled out her own heart. Her vision blurred as tears streamed down her cheeks. Nobody cared, nobody would come looking for her, not unless something happened and they needed her to use magic again. That's all she was good for, magic. She despised it, it seemed only fitting magic would take her life. She took a shaking breath and cried out as she squeezed, she doubled over in pain before falling onto the floor, unmoving as dust spilled from her fingers. The town had finally gotten what they'd wanted, the Evil Queen was no more.


End file.
